Author Spotlight - Q&A with June Foster

STEPH: I don't know much about Hometown Fourth of July. What's it about?

JUNE: Max Tate meets Lynn Marshall at the annual Fourth of July celebration in Ft. Freedom, Washington. As an adult, he's always wanted to find his birthmother, a maid at the Tate household, who gave him up for adoption to the wealthy lawyer and his wife when he was four. Since Lynn is a research analyst for the state senate, she could help him with a computer search. Lynn grew up as a middle child of a large family, never quite feeling like she belonged. Now someone needs her. As she helps Max, he shares his faith with her, and she gives her life to God. When she locates a likely person who could be Max's mother, they make a trip on the ferry to Cascade Island only to find Max missed meeting his mother by two weeks. Now she's dead and he'll never find his roots. Max's life looks bleak when he turns his back on the woman he loves and his God. Can Max find his identity, regaining his relationship with Lynn and his Lord setting him free to celebrate another Fourth?


STEPH: How long did it take you to write the book?

JUNE: It generally takes me about four months to write a book. That includes lots of edits. I have a wonderful critique group I work with, and I do a copious amount of self-editing. Then it seems like I always find more to edit.

STEPH: How much research did you have to do?

JUNE: Not a lot with this book. It is set in the real life town of Steilacoom, Washington. My husband and I have been to the wonderful Fourth of July celebration several times in that city sponsored by the local Chamber of commerce. The opening scene is based on the incredible parade. Since the story is loosely based on the adoption situation of my husband's older brother, I did a small amount of research on his life and how he came to be with the Foster family.

STEPH: How does the cover reflect the story within?

JUNE: Max and Lynn are looking toward fireworks in the sky with a church in the background. The fireworks represent how the couple met as well as an important story element at the end of the book. The church reflects how God brings salvation and healing in their lives.

STEPH: Lynn is the heroine. What are her strengths? Weakness?

JUNE: Lynn is a middle child who never quite finds her place in her large family. She wants to steer clear of the company of her sister and older brothers and their families because they'll probably make her do all the work at the gatherings. She doesn't believe that God would love her enough to want a relationship with her. One of her strengths is her computer skills with which she assists Max in finding his mother. She gives unselfishly to Max not expecting anything back.

STEPH: What does Max find appealing about her?

JUNE: Of course he likes her curvaceous body and long strawberry blond hair. But more than her looks, he admires how she always seems calm and in control - so different than his fiery nature.

STEPH: What is the theme of the novel?

JUNE: A person's identity is not found in his possessions, his family, or his profession. These things do not define a person. Who we are lies in who God says we are - His children.

STEPH: As a writer, where do you draw inspiration from?

JUNE: I know a lot of writers might say this, but I truly believe God places stories in my heart and mind. I reach for the truth I find in the Bible to create my stories.

STEPH: Do you have an ebook reader? If so, which one?

JUNE: Yes, of course. Couldn't do without one. I have a Kindle - the cheapest one Amazon sells. (smile)

STEPH: Fun question: What are your plans for summer?

JUNE: Yes, this one dates me, but I'm going to the wedding of my oldest granddaughter in El Paso, Texas. I'm so proud of her. She just graduated from UTEP with a degree in geology.

*****

Here's the link for the trailer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS0Gx4NBI88&feature=email

Find June at: http://junefoster.blogspot.com

Author Spotlight - Q&A with Toni Noel, author of Temp to Permanent

STEPH: I don't know much about Temp To Permanent. Can you tell me a little more about?

TONI: In Temp To Permanent, the beleaguered owner of an advertising firm is thrown for a loop when the temp agency sends her a male replacement for her secretary who has the flu. This man is all she's ever want in a lover, but she's doubtful he'll be able to manage her busy phones.

Greg surprises Carina. His skill with computer graphics far exceeds her secretary's ability, and Carina's thriving business returns to normal, until troublesome things start happening, little irritating things that slow down their production, until the petty cash disappears. Carina suspects Greg is a plant sent by her competition to force her company to fail. Will the attraction she has for him survive her suspicions?

STEPH: How long did it take to write?

TONI: It takes me six weeks to write the first draft of a novel, and may take several years to polish it for submission. During the Temp To Permanent revision I began to wonder who wants to pick up a book about a lady boss who can't keep her hands off the temp help, but must? The situation was already humorous, or could become erotic, which ever I chose.

Not erotic, I was certain. Maybe what I needed was a good mystery to distract my characters, but for them to work more closely together, a situation rife with opportunities for romance. That's why I added the mystery. It gave my characters a problem to solve other than the sexual harassment one they'd face if either acted on their desires.

STEPH: Did you do a lot of research for the novel?

TONI: No research was need for this novel. Authors are instructed to write what they know. I'd worked in accounting offices for thirty years. I knew all about the subtle games office workers play, but there was nothing the least bit romantic about our accounting department. We were kept too busy for office intrigue, so I needed a different setting for my novel and decided on a quieter office situation for my characters, a business with only two employees. I wanted a place where a hero and heroine already attracted to each other would be forced to spend time together in conference every day, rubbing elbows, you might say. I already knew a little about computer graphics. The last company I worked for designed and built remotely controlled underwater vehicles. I interviewed a few of those designers, questioned the owner of a graphic arts business and started writing.


STEPH: Where did the inspiration for the story come from?

TONI: Prior to year end close ach year, I interviewed and hired a temp to take over my timecard duties while I produced financial reports and worked the accounting year close. One year I hired a male temp, not because of his drop-dead looks, but because of his obvious skills. He had an accounting degree and office experience, and best of all, required little training before I was able to tackle my work without interruption. Not so for the rest of the company. Even the married female employees hung out of their cubicles each day when he made his rounds.

STEPH: If your story was going to be made into a movie, who would you cast as the leads?

TONI: Greg would look like Sean Penn, with twinkling blue eyes and curly black hair. Carina would be a young Glenn Close.

STEPH: What is the theme of the novel?

TONI: The theme of Temp To Permanent is Love finds a way. Carina is convinced Greg lacks ambition. In reality, he's ashamed of his past failures, and refuses to talk about his past. To Carina, her father lacked ambition and determined not to fall for someone without goals in his life. She's a highly ambitious, successful businesswoman who has scratched her way to the top of her field, but has recently realized she is unhappy with her current life. Something is missing. She's not sure what until Greg walks into her office and she discovers she wants the very thing she cannot legally have: her temp.

STEPH: What do you want readers to take away from the novel when they finish it?

TONI: I always want my readers to finish my novels with the satisfaction of a happy ending, a resolution that leaves them smiling, and memories of a couple whose newly found love warms their heart long after they read 'The end.

STEPH: Do you have an eBook reader? If so, which one?

TONI: My husband gave me one of the first Nooks, bought when they were still pricey. I have a cover for it that feels like suede and folds back flat when I'm reading. I also have a light for it, but am yet to need it.

My husband recently bought a mini-computer for me to use in the motor home, so I also download .pdf files, copy them to a flash drive and read on the mini. In some ways I like it better.

STEPH: How important was the setting to the novel?

STEPH: Here again, write what you know influenced this novel. For several years I was the accountant for a local hotel and worked at San Diego's Embarcadero. This city's main business district is located a few blocks east of the bay, and all up-and-coming business owners need easy access to downtown, so Carina's opened her business in Little Italy, a stones-throw from downtown, and Greg rented an apartment in Old Town to avoid a lengthy freeway drive to where he hopes to eventually work. This setting gave my characters scenic views right outside their doors, and excellent places to dine while they became better acquainted.

STEPH: What's your writing space like?

STEPH: I emptied a spare bedroom for my office. My desk, a six foot door, turns the floor space into a mini-maze. Four tall, stuffed bookshelves line the wall I face when I write. One narrow end is beneath the window. The other end protrudes into the room, parallel to the bookcases and the sewing machine at my back. When we have company, this room becomes a catchall room for odd , collecting things we'd like to keep out of sight, items that never seem to find their back out of here, so not, my office is not neat, no many how many classes I take on organizing my writing space, but it almost serves my needs.
You'd think with a six foot desk I'd have plenty of room.

Not.

STEPH: Thanks for popping in, Toni! It was great to have you on the blog today!